NHL Player News

Vanecek (face) could return to practice before the end of the week after head coach Ryan Warsofsky told reporters Tuesday, "Definitely progressing, taking shots. We probably envision him getting into practice here, possibly by the end of the week," Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports.

Vanecek's timeline likely means his first chance to get back into the crease would be next Thursday's clash with Seattle -- though the team hasn't provided a more concrete return-to-play plan. Even once given the all-clear, Vanecek could struggle to reclaim the starting job since Yaroslav Askarov has been performing well.

Hildeby is slated to start at home against Columbus on Wednesday, per Mark Masters of TSN.

Hildeby hasn't played between the pipes since Jan. 11. He has a 3-2-0 record, 3.18 GAA and .884 save percentage in five appearances in 2024-25. Hildeby's up with the Maple Leafs because Anthony Stolarz (knee) is unavailable. The Blue Jackets are tied for seventh in goals per game with 3.26.

Lyon stopped 24 of 26 shots in Tuesday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Flyers.

Lyon was only a few seconds away from forcing a shootout, but a late goal from Rasmus Ristolainen forced him to settle with an OT defeat. Lyon has gone winless in his past four appearances, a span in which he's gone 0-1-1 with a 2.19 GAA and a .910 save percentage while saving 61 of the 67 shots he's faced.

Ersson stopped 27 of 28 shots in Tuesday's 2-1 overtime win over the Red Wings.

Ersson was massive between the pipes for Philadelphia and a late goal from Rasmus Ristolainen in overtime allowed him to get the win. He's extended his impressive winning streak to five games, a stretch in which he's posted a 1.58 GAA and a .930 save percentage.

Shesterkin posted a 20-save shutout in Tuesday's 5-0 win over the Senators.

The star goaltender notched another impressive performance between the pipes and recorded a second consecutive shutout. With this performance, Shesterkin extended his shutout streak to 164:03, the second longest of his career behind the 166:30 he had last season from March 4 to March 14, 2024. He'll aim to establish a new personal record in his next appearance, presumably when the Rangers take on the Flyers on Thursday.

Vasilevskiy gave up three goals on 22 shots in a 3-2 loss to Montreal on Tuesday.

Vasilevskiy is only 8-10-0 in games in which he faced 25 or fewer shots while going 12-4-2 in the other 18 appearances. With another back-to-back on the schedule, the 30-year-old backstop figures to split the workload with Jonas Johansson against the Blackhawks and Red Wings on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Forsberg stopped 10 of 13 shots in relief in Tuesday's 5-0 loss to the Rangers.

Leevi Merilainen allowed two goals on 16 shots before he was replaced by Forsberg at the 4:59 mark of the second period. However, Forsberg didn't fare much better and allowed three more goals in what ended up being an easy win for the Rangers. Forsberg has won just once in his last five appearances, going 1-2-1 with a 3.25 GAA and an .873 save percentage in that span.

Merilainen stopped 14 of 16 shots before being pulled in Tuesday's 5-0 loss to the Rangers.

Merilainen allowed two goals on 16 shots before he was replaced by Anton Forsberg at the 4:59 mark of the second period. This was Merilainen's first loss in regulation since Jan. 2, when he gave up four goals in a 4-2 loss to the Stars. The 22-year-old netminder has been relatively effective as the Senators' No. 1 goaltender in recent weeks. He's gone 4-2-1 with a 2.17 GAA and a .920 save percentage across seven appearances in January, although it's worth noting that he owns the starting role since Linus Ullmark remains sidelined with a back injury.

Montembeault stopped 33 of 35 shots on net in Tuesday's 3-2 victory over the Lightning.

Montembeault has been very inconsistent over his last five outings, going 3-1-1 with a 3.17 GAA while giving up four or more goals twice during that stretch. With youngster Jakub Dobes currently riding a five-game winning streak, Montembeault will have to continue to stay on top of his game in order to avoid being dropped from the starting role.

Dostal stopped 24 of 29 shots in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Panthers.

Dostal had a poor performance while dropping to 1-3-1 over five outings in January. The Panthers scored three times in the first period and then added two more early in the third to squash the Ducks' chance of a comeback. The 24-year-old netminder is now 11-13-4 with a 2.96 GAA and a .907 save percentage over 28 appearances, but January's been his only really bad month so far. Dostal has been alternating starts with John Gibson -- if that pattern holds, Gibson would face the Penguins on Thursday, while Dostal's next start would be Saturday against the Predators.